Indonesia’s Ambassador to Qatar, Ridwan Hasan
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, trade volume between Qatar and Indonesia has reached almost $1bn in 2020, said Indonesia’s Ambassador to Qatar H E Ridwan Hasan yesterday.
Speaking at the virtual Qatar Indonesia Business Dialogue and Matchmaking webinar which was jointly organised by the business councils of both countries, Hasan said bilateral trade between the two countries have shown an increasing trend of 11 percent annual growth rate from 2015 to 2019.
“Despite the COVID-19 challenge, our trade volume has reached almost $1bn last year. Also we have seen Qatari investments in Indonesia through the presence of Ooredoo, Qatar National Bank, Nebras Power, and Qatar Investment Authority. Something we should be grateful. I believe there is still a lot of room for improvement, and I am convinced that our trade volume can be increased in various cooperations in general,” he added.
The Indonesian Ambassador added that apart from investments in the energy sector, the Halal industry also presents a number of opportunities for trade between the two countries. He added that Indonesia’s recently implemented Omnibus Law which aims to improve the ease of investment in the country, should also be seen as one of the positive signs for Qatari businesspeople to expand their businesses to Indonesia.
The Ambassador went on to reiterate Qatar’s resilience amid the previous blockade and the ongoing pandemic, and expressed optimism for the business sectors. He also encouraged the private sectors of both countries to maximise the available trade opportunities in both countries.
“The economic opportunity in Indonesia is great, with Indonesia’s 270 million people with the growing middle and upper class in the country. There are good opportunities in various sectors, as well as in tourism and aviation service with the opening of new destinations,” Hasan added.
Also speaking during the event, Qatar’s Ambassador to Indonesia H E Fawziya Edrees Salman Al Sulaiti, said that Qatar is keen to increase its trade investment with Indonesia, which is South East Asia’s largest economy and one of Qatar’s most important trade partners.
She added: “Qatar and Indonesia hold special strategic relations and are keen to promote it through many agreements and MoUs, which form the foundation to level up the trade investment indicators. Indonesia is a strategic trade partner for Qatar and South East Asia."
"Qatar has invested in the country’s communications sector through Indosat Ooredoo, tourism through QIA, financial and banking through QNB, and energy through through Nebras Power. All of which point towards sustainable development. This is the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. But we are looking forward to increasing our investment and cooperation with Indonesia,” Al Sulaiti added.
According to Fachry Thaib, Chairman of Kadin KT30K1, trade between Qatar and Indonesia has increased from $828m in 2015 to $1.1bn in 2019. He added that the upcoming World Cup 2022 will also open new opportunities for Indonesian supplies and services sectors.
Speaking to The Peninsula, President of Qatar Indonesia Business Council, Farhan Al Sheikh Al Sayed, said that trade volume between the two countries for the first 11 months of 2020 had already reached $825m.
“Qatar and Indonesia bilateral trade has shown very big improvement even during the COVID-19. It’s almost a billion dollars, which is tremendous. The focus now is not just on LNG products, but on how to increase trade in non-hydrocarbon products trade. The Indonesian Corner in Qatar is a good opportunity for Indonesian businesses to showcase their products. Qatar Airways is also doing a great job, with the number of cities covered in Indonesia has grown,” Al Sayed said while addressing the webinar earlier.
He also reiterated the recent diplomatic breakthrough in the GCC and went on to encourage Indonesian businesspeople to invest in Qatar’s Free Zones.
During the event, President of Indonesia Qatar Business Council Hendra Hartono Turman also presented the priority list of products imported by Qatar from Indonesia in 2019. He added that Indonesia ranked 23rd in the list of countries Qatar imported products from in 2019 with a total value of $168.394m. The webinar was followed by a B2B meeting between Qatari and Indonesian businesspeople.
